At age 39, Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki is draining 3-pointers with stunning and historic efficiency

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Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)

As of this typing, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, at the dare-we-say-sprightly age of 39, ranks third in the NBA in 3-point field goal efficiency, draining 43.9 percent of his attempts.

Granted this season still has 17 games remaining, but this is the highest 3-point percentage Nowitzki has shot during his 20-year career, eclipsing his 42.1 percent in 2009-2010.

And for the most part Nowitzki is at a loss to explain how he's doing it. Or how it could be that in the last four games he is 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) from 3-point land.

"I don't know," he said. "I've just been stepping into shots. As you know, there's some ups and downs in a long season. There are stretches where you've just got that confidence and you've got the touch and you feel like you're never going to miss."

Actually, Dirk, we don't know, but we'll take your word for it. After all, the only NBA players currently making 3-pointers at a higher success rate are Golden State's Klay Thompson (44.8 percent) and Utah's Joe Ingles (44.5 percent).

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The thing is, Thompson and Ingles are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8, respectively.

Also, Thompson is 28 years old and Ingles is 30.

We don't know whether Nowitzki can continue at this torrid long-distance shooting pace, but please allow us to try to put what he is doing into historical context.

The best single-season 3-point percentage any 39-year-old has shot is 42.7 percent that former Maverick and current Milwaukee Buck Jason Terry shot last season. Terry, mind you, is a 6-2 guard.

How have some of the NBA's other shooting greats fared from 3-point land during the seasons in which they were or turned 39? Manu Ginobili shot 39 percent. John Stockton shot 32.1 percent, just a year after he shot 46.2 percent. At age 38, Paul Pierce shot 34.9 percent, Reggie Miller shot 32.2 percent and Michael Jordan shot 29.1 percent.

It's long been said that the first thing to go in a premier NBA shooter are his legs. This usually is reflected in his shooting percentage.

It's obvious to anyone who sees Nowitzki lumber up and down the court (while missing only one game this season) that he isn't anywhere as close to as agile as he used to be, but the ol' shooting legs show no signs of wear.

This surely is a testament to Nowitzki's many hours in the weight room and on the practice court. And if you are looking for a statistical clue about whether he will return for season No. 21 at age 40, forget about Nowitzki's scoring average and focus on his efficiency, the area in which he's long most prided himself.

Nowitzki notes that he came out of the All-Star break with a poor 3-point shooting performance at Utah (1-for-7). Two nights later he was 1-of-4 against Indiana, but that is the game that preceded this red-hot 4-game stretch.

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"Other than that I've had a good rhythm," Nowitzki said. "I think the guys do a good job of swinging the ball and finding me in my spots when I'm open. I'm just going to step in and shoot it when it's there."

Lest you think Nowitzki has purely become a spot-up 3-point shooter, we'll pause and point out that 31.9 percent of his points this season have come from mid-range baskets. That's the highest percentage in the NBA, just ahead of Carmelo Anthony's 30.2 percent.

It's also worth noting that Nowitzki is shooting 90.7 percent from the free-throw line, which would be seventh-best in the NBA if he had enough attempts to qualify.

OK, back to the historic part.

Did you know that Nowitzki's 1,899 career 3-pointers rank 11th in NBA history? And did you know that of the 10 players who rank ahead of 7-foot Nowitzki, the closest to his height are, at 6-7, Miller, Kyle Korver, Pierce and Joe Johnson?

And that the average height of those 10 players ahead of Nowitzki is 6-5?

Although Nowitzki is making this look rather easy at age 39, he insists that it is anything but.

"Sometimes there's games, or a stretch of games, where everything feels weird," he laments. "And every time you shoot it's like an out-of-body experience."

Now that, Dirk, we do understand.

"You go through some ups and downs in a season," Nowitzki said. "It's normal. Right now I've just had a decent touch."